Starsector Activation Code Generator
Arnau Cyr
Lets start this with a link to a video using which I learned how to do this =HUbEhuzHur8 made by WadeStar. This video also has his mod frame for creating a star system. I do not know how to use Java so I will explain how to create your own star system for those like myself via copy/paste+logic)
First of all I have to point out that changing starsector core system scripts will not work. If you change them nothing will happen, I tried. To insert anything into them you need to use override commands and as I said I do not know how to use Java. But they are still a good reference as to the structure of the star systems, if you find something you like in the core system you can go to (\Starsector\starsector-core\data\scripts\world)
and find the system you liked, then open it and look at its structure, there are a lot of features in core worlds that are not there in outer sector generator with custom rings/planet graphics and so on which you can try to copy into your own star system.
To create the star system you will need to use the star system mod frame mentioned above, it will have a lot of explanations in itself and the video will also explain a lot and in easy to understand form. Here I will explain the rest that I have struggled with when creating my own star system:
* First thing you see in the plugin file is this wall of text, please note that WadeStar's tutorial is for version 0.8 so I wasn't sure if all of things needed were there. I you can freely add lines your system lacks from starsector core as they are up to date. Or use one from my mod:
You will need to remove everything in [ ] for it to work. All other lines of code are added on top of it. Without them it will be just a frame for a planet, unless you use fix all empty planets mod it wont have any market conditions like a lot of core worlds. It will also have a generic description and skin depending on its planet type.
then when you try to colonize the planet, you will survey it just fine, you will see its awesome conditions with all ultrarich and all, you can salvage its vast ruins all good but when you try to colonize it SUDDENLY you get resources for that taken but the colony wont be created.That is the same for everything here, you have to be very careful or you will have a lot of crashes and bugs.
*Also note that [StarSystemGenerator.addOrbitingEntities( ] will add not only planets but also rings, asteroid fields and so on so dont be afraid to set it to numbers of 10+ when using OLD seting due to most of it beying said rings and debris. YOUNG setting has much higher planet to debris ratio.
*Another note is that hyperspace storms wont be automaticly cleared from the location of the system. I am yet to find script lines to do that so you either dont mind that they ended up in hyper storm or look for suitable location without them.
Misc aliens. Starting with the Yehat from UQM:I was looking at the long torso in their portrait and came to think of flying snakes, probably because I had just finished (re)reading Spacehounds of the IPC. A Naga body makes them a bit more alien than just pterodactyls. Most portraits don't show the lower body.I'm trying to suggest some kind of sleek & darting movement on a misty/dense but somehow low-G world... like a Garfish eel thingy. Gamma Serpentis I is listed as 1.50atm & 0.86g so I guess that works. It's a waterworld... maybe the Yehat can swim well or just live on the islands.The head knob is blue in some portraits.
Fan-game idea: The player is a captain of a top-secret contingency expedition fleet ("Corridor 14"?) that left to another sector (towards the safer periphery, opposite coreward). This happened some time early-mid UQM timeline, so not all tech is available and the fleet is limited to a few of the aliens, namely the ZFP, Spathi, Yehat, Syreen, and Supox. A melting pot, like the Starflight Arthlings. Perhaps the humans bite the dust on the way (making a noble sacrifice, eaten by space amoebas?). Hayes could be featured in the intro perhaps, sending the expedition off. The ZFP creatures breathe a different atmosphere (methane/ammonia, 0.20atm, 0.87g), but could either be nitrogen-oxygen tolerant or has life support in their assistive platforms.
I think... somewhere at the core of UQM is an idea that I like in sci-fi, namely: straight-faced silly premises, i.e. strange and absurd ideas which are taken seriously in writing without judgment or awareness. In UQM, the starbase commander Hayes' portrait is fairly realistic and he seems to take everything seriously. He's not a cartoon character goofing off and breaking fourth wall. He's living in this universe and it's rather dreadful for him, so he provides a foundation for the player's impressions.
The new sector has some new aliens to discover.I based these new aliens, starbases and ships on sketches seen in the TfB dev sketchbooks, as well as unused early sprites. So not really new stuff I guess.
To echo UQM, I was thinking the expedition fleet & captain (player) first runs into a station guarded by a lone hostile ship, except this time it's an abandoned Mmrnmhrm facility guarded by a Druuge. The Druuge captain is trying to scam resources off the player, but all conversation options eventually reveal that the Druuge captain is actually alone, lost and desperate, so the segment is really just a way to brief the player and initiate some easy combat.
The Mmrnmhrm station is analogous to the starbase and acts as a manufacturing center/hub and home base. The Mmrnmhrm there have no memory of what they are or offer no information (creepy like the the Mass Effect Citadel Station bots). Of course, back home the Chenjesu and Mmrnmhrm are still slave-shielded together.
There are some friendly black Ilwrath near the home base, isolated from the red ones near Sol. The Ilwrath portraits mismatch, but I like the radial 5-legged version. A lot of the aliens in the sector are suppressed by a large scale space war between mighty space monsters (rather than the Ur-Quan / Kzer-Za as in UQM1). This battle could be foreshadowed by an amoeba encounter in the intro. Initially this immense warzone limits everyone's movements, but the situation changes when something drives off the monsters... something hellish from *below* that must be shut off/out (the long term goal of the game). Perhaps one of the aliens/humans started *smelling*.
The bottom of the new sector starmap is quite sparsely populated suggesting that this is out towards the periphery (of the Orion arm or local cluster). Also, the worlds down there have been ravaged by something unexplained. I think the region should have less life than the original UQM Sol sector in order to not compete or seem special.Whether the big worms were ever here is unknown but perhaps they didn't want to engage the space monsters, explaining why there are few/no slave-shielded worlds. Just as there are primitive humans, there could be cave-dwelling big brown worms that regressed, but likely not as it's too big of a reveal (as is having the Orz spit out the Androsynth). I want to keep the plot smaller so it doesn't infringe on future major canon developments.
A Mycon variant could appear though (doing something other than lava planets). The Yehat likes uplifting aliens so maybe that could be a thing in the sector, explaining the presence of some of the new space travel capable aliens. One alien faction could be based on UQM's wildlife (like the hopping blobby or blood monkey). I'd like to bring back the Zebranky somehow (another Umgah prank... maybe as big villain "UQM:Return of the Zebranky").
Omnipresent aliens could be the Melnorme, Arilou, Orz, as well as some of the (presumably invasive) wildlife. These don't appear to stick to a specific place in UQM. The Utwig, Umgah, Pkunk, VUX, Thraddash, Slylandro, Shofixti and Chenjesu have to remain back home (I don't want to overcrowd). Perhaps towards the end of the game, reinforcements and aliens from the end of the UQM could arrive (having been contacted) bringing useful tech.
Anyways, this type of story doesn't really interfere with the UQM universe much as it's parallel with no major reveals or developments, and tech leveling could be more subtle too. There are other ways to progress and build might (like alliances). The most important thing to keep the player engaged is probably the dialogue and setting up exciting situations and tasks.
Thraddash pilots (mini portraits) are some kind of purple crustacean, but maybe that's an exo-armour.The green tentacles could be hair-tentacles, used to manipulate panel interfaces in the armour. I'm thinking the Syreen has blue/black combat suits when out on adventures.
Studies and exploration. The Cruiser assets vary quite a bit in appearance... I've been sketching on a few different models but not really getting anywhere conclusive. Fighter is a mix of F4U Corsair and TTA Shark. Did a blue Precursor-tech Mk10 Cruiser... not sure where it belongs. The Ur-Quan Dreadnought perhaps borrows some Precursor tech too. I kept the silhouette close to the sprite but added new panels. It actually has Enterprise nacelles in the big profile art. Not sure about scale for any of this. In supermelee the presentation & proportions are more cartoony.
There are not a lot of ship variants and sizes in the UQM universe for gameplay reasons, but perhaps it's a feature of the universe. I had some thought many years ago that UQM ships are somewhat size constrained (by a "hyperspace window" perhaps) so that's why they're about the same size, which would also go for these freighters. The older races can build slightly larger.
Suit plus helmet with light filter... should help when getting spaced or visiting alien ships. Planetary Lander/Scout, with a dome similar to the Starflight ATV's. The Vindicator window is also green, though the Cruiser's dome is blue.
Planetary landings are probably the most difficult part to get right. In UQM and Starflight it was done with a lowrez map and flying around with the lander, but nowadays people have "HD expectations" for planetary surface features.
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